Former Yoshi's Space Now Up for Grabs As City Searches for a Tenant

The troubled Fillmore Heritage Center, the $75 million project that was home to the now-shuttered jazz club and restaurant Yoshi's, is now slightly closer to a resolution. Yoshi's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012, and finally shuttered in 2014. That's when minority owner Michael Johnson bought out former owners Yoshie Akiba and Kaz Kajimura, and opened a club called The Addition. Due to "reduced revenue," that business closed its doors in January of 2015 and the space fell into the hands of the city— the space has been vacant ever since. (Fans of 1300 on Fillmore need not worry, as The Chronicle reports that the city would assign a long-term lease to the buyer.)

Now the Office of Economic and Workforce Development and Board of Supervisors are asking interested parties to respond to a request for information (RFI), in order to test the waters for a viable tenant; submissions for the RFI have a deadline of March 4. After reviewing the proposals, a committee will put out a formal request for proposals (RFP) in hopes of securing a profitable business for the area. San Francisco city officials have long attempted to revitalize the lower Fillmore's commercial offerings, including the initial $75 million buildout of the center in 2007.